{"topic_id":"exotic_husbandry_hedgehog","category":"exotic-pet-husbandry","context":"---\ntopic_id: exotic_husbandry_hedgehog\ncategory: exotic-pet-husbandry\ntitle: \"Hedgehog housing — solitary; secure lidded cage, plastic storage bins or wire cages with close spacing\"\nlang: en\nsource: \"Merck Veterinary Manual — Hedgehog housing — solitary; secure lidded cage, plastic storage bins or wire cages with close spacing\"\nsource_file: pdf-raw/exotic-health/mvm_hedgehog_mgmt_2026.txt\ndate_parsed: 2026-07-28\ntokens_estimated: 71\nverified: true\nverification: c1_substring\nsource_document: \"Merck Veterinary Manual (professional veterinary reference)\"\ncitation:\n  authority: \"Merck Veterinary Manual\"\n  title: \"Hedgehog housing — solitary; secure lidded cage, plastic storage bins or wire cages with close spacing\"\n  url: \"https://www.merckvetmanual.com/exotic-and-laboratory-animals/hedgehogs/management-of-hedgehogs\"\n  retrieved: \"2026-07-28\"\n  ref: \"\"\n  doc_type: \"professional veterinary reference\"\n  needs_review: false\n---\n\n# Hedgehog housing\n\nThe text below is reproduced verbatim from the first-hand source (Merck Veterinary Manual).\n\n> Wild hedgehogs are solitary; as pets they are usually housed in individual cages.\n> Large, plastic storage containers or single-level, plastic-bottomed wire cages are suitable, provided that the wire is appropriately spaced.\n\nSource: `pdf-raw/exotic-health/mvm_hedgehog_mgmt_2026.txt` (first-hand professional veterinary reference, tag-stripped).\n\n## Claims (verified C1 substrings of source_file)\n- `Wild hedgehogs are solitary; as pets they are usually housed in individual cages.`\n- `Large, plastic storage containers or single-level, plastic-bottomed wire cages are suitable, provided that the wire is appropriately spaced.`\n","sources":["exotic-pet-husbandry — Hedgehog housing — solitary; secure lidded cage, plastic storage bins or wire cages with close spacing (retrieved 2026-07-28)"],"source":{"authority":"exotic-pet-husbandry","title":"Hedgehog housing — solitary; secure lidded cage, plastic storage bins or wire cages with close spacing","url":"https://www.merckvetmanual.com/exotic-and-laboratory-animals/hedgehogs/management-of-hedgehogs","retrieved":"2026-07-28","ref":"","doc_type":"official PDF","source_document":"Merck Veterinary Manual (professional veterinary reference)","verification_file":"pdf-raw/exotic-health/mvm_hedgehog_mgmt_2026.txt"},"source_document":"Merck Veterinary Manual (professional veterinary reference)","source_file":"pdf-raw/exotic-health/mvm_hedgehog_mgmt_2026.txt","tokens_estimated":71,"generated_at":null,"tip":"Use /api/v1/topics to discover more topics. /api/v1/nutrient for precise single-point queries. /api/v1/cross_compare for 2-3 standard comparisons."}